Shocked Quartz
by TheManTimeForgot
Summary: Epilogue: "Steven..." the gears in his hand clicked as it caressed the boy's cheek. "Do you know what it is to be less than human?"
1. A Well Earned Rest

_Author's Note: To be completely honest, I thought I get here before Sardonyx. Hell, I thought I'd be done before the first Stevenbomb. Oh well...It's been long enough, It's time to have some fun. I hope you like it._

* * *

Gamma and his band of friends were flying along a tube of shining light to their nearby destination. During that time Epsilon, Upsilon, and Helen were studying the Codex of spells given to them by their alternate reality double, Theta the Traveler. Rho was anxious, waiting to get to where they were going, leaving his armor off for the trip. Nero, however, was trying to find space in the tube, as it was barely wide enough to fit all of them. He shoved Omega, who drifted to the back, his upper body falling out of the tube.

Rho looked back in alarm as he saw Omega. He reached out and pulled Omega back, luckily still in one piece. On the other hand, Omega was breathing heavily, his eyes still locked onto the place in the wall he fell through.

"Guys," he gasped. "You've got to see whats out there."

They were all tentative at his request, but one by one they all poked their heads out of the tube. They were met by the expansive void, made bright by both a series of similar tubes, and a star, the flares blazing in all directions. The star's immense gravity bent the tubes around it, and quite a few of them went straight through it. Putting their heads back in, they were full of questions.

"Psyche, what's going on?" Gamma asked.

" _Scans show that this is not space as we know it. This is more like subspace."_

"Stars aren't a natural occurrence in subspace." Nero pointed out. "Something left it here."

"A defense mechanism?" Upsilon wondered.

"I think you're going to have to explain that to us." Epsilon said.

Helen took the mirror from Rho's hand. "Theta brought us here using the mirror as a point of reference. Without it, using only basic coordinates, we might have just flown into that star."

The answer they had only raised more questions. Who would drop a star into subspace? Who even could? Those answers would have to wait as they were coming up to their stop. The tube dropped them off onto a pad inside of a house, the sun shining through the windows. Noticing where they were, Gamma held his hands out, keeping everyone on the pad.

"This is where he left us off at?" he whispered. "We need to get outside."

Nero was about to ask why,but he was cut off as he saw a slumbering pink lion behind them, the low growls as it snored filling the house. The fact that lions weren't normally pink didn't keep him from being scared. "Could you hurry that escape plan up?"

"Grab my hands." Omega said. Once they did, he hopped off of the pad and the passed through the house and the mountain and landed onto the beach below. "Well, at least we didn't crash in on them unannounced."

"I guess they're on a mission." Rho thought, becoming dejected. "Just because we have free time doesn't mean everyone else does."

"Hey Upsilon," Omega said, looking back where they came from. "You said that the Gems gutted out the house for their headquarters right?"

Upsilon turned around to see the house, and the giant statue of a woman behind it. One of its many arms had a clothesline between its fingers, a set of pink shirts drying in the wind. He was angry at his misconception; of course the Gems were here first, they were here before humanity most likely.

"It's like no temple I've ever seen." Helen marveled at its grandeur. "What kind of goddess is this?"

"Not a goddess." Upsilon said. "An alien, but on a scale I've never seen…"

Gamma looked out across the horizon and a glimmer caught his eye. "Upsilon, you couldn't by any chance conjure up some binoculars?"

"Of course." A wave of his hand and the binoculars were in his grasp. Handing them to Gamma, he then ran out over the water, leaving waves in his wake.

Helen watched as he left. "Where's he off to?"

Gamma peered in the binoculars to see the glimmer Upsilon was heading off to. What he found was a small boat that was reflecting the sun's light. From top to bottom it was made out of solid crystal. "Psyche, identify the occupants in that craft."

" _Brain waves show one human, three alien. Patterns are a match for the Crystal Gems."_

 _"_ Don't worry Helen." Gamma lowered the binoculars. "Upsilon is just putting in the good word for us. Rho, Omega, lets do the same." He tossed the binoculars to Epsilon and went out into the ocean.

"Should we go out as well?" Epsilon asked, gesturing to Helen and Nero.

"You just stay here." Omega said. "Just let us say hi, we owe them that much." He and Rho took off as well.

* * *

With his head start, Upsilon got to the boat first. As he neared the bow he saw Garnet, Pearl,and Steven inside the boat, a seagull circling overhead. Steven had his ukulele, singing a sea shanty while the others listened. When they heard Upsilon, Garnet and Pearl turned to face him, ready for a fight. Steven had a different reaction.

"Johann!" he cried, delighted at seeing him, nearly tipping the boat as he stood up. "You came back!"

Upsilon stopped in front of them, bowing to them. "It is good that you have not forgotten me, Steven Universe. Hold on…" With a grin, his arms flowed into motion, commanding the water behind him to erupt in a plume. Omega used it as a platform to leap onto the top of the boat startling the seagull away with a squawk. Congratulating himself on the landing, he looked down at them.

"So, it seems that we have a empty crow's nest. Mind if I stay- Ah!" He was assaulted by the returning seagull, their combined flailing causing the to tumble off the sails. Omega floated in the air as he got his hands on the bird.

"I called the top!" the seagull argued.

Omega was confused until he noticed that the seagull he was fighting had purple feathers and a similarly colored stone in it's chest. "A-Amethyst?"

She changed back into her humanoid form, still in Omega's arms. She blew a raspberry at him, only for him to let her fall in the ocean. Gamma and Rho circled by, laughing at them both as Amethyst sputtered, lifting herself over into the boat.

"Hey!" Gamma costed by on the starboard side, waving at the Gems.

"Do you feel that?" Upsilon said, moving out of the way of the boat's path. "Steven has grown since we were last here, in size and power."

"Well, I have gotten a couple of inches taller." Steven bragged.

"Not just him," Rho stopped at the port side. "The Gems seem to have changed as well." Amethyst had switched the colors of her dress: black shirt with purple leggings. Garnet's formerly square shoulder padding now had pointed outward, and the maroon coloring on her clothes had changed to magenta, splitting her lower body in half. Rho was caught staring at her as he passed by, and only when he saw his own reflection in Garnet's shades did he avert his eyes.

"Except Pearl, it seems." Omega said, causing her to become self conscious. She her long pastel blue shirt, tied with a sash, and short yellow stockings.

"Of course she wouldn't." Upsilon hovered closer to Pearl. "You can't improve upon perfection."

" _Define perfection."_ Psyche said.

Pearl was stunned by his praise. "Oh! Um…well…" Amethyst flicked what water was left on her at Pearl, who glared at her. Rolling her eyes at Amethyst, she readdressed Upsilon. " _Anyways_ , what brings you here?"

"We were thinking about taking a vacation," Omega explained, performing the backstroke in the air. "And Rho came up with the idea of coming here! I mean, what place is better than the beach?"

Rho stomach sunk as he knew what brought him here. "We also wanted you to see our friends." he said trying to distract himself.

* * *

They came to port some time later, the rest of them meeting them at the pier. "So these are the Crystal Gems." Epsilon said once he had a closer look at them. "I'm Epsilon. I'm sorry I wasn't here before. Thanks for helping out my friends in their darkest hour."

"You don't have to be afraid," Garnet told him, Epsilon in awe at her height and how she exuded authority. "You can tell us what your name really is."

Epsilon was somewhat surprised at her bluntness, but her logic was understandable. "My name is Travis."

"You were the one they were trying to rescue." Pearl realized, recalling the report Upsilon gave Gamma when they first met. "But who are the others?"

"I'm Helen." she bowed to Pearl in the same manner as Upsilon. Pearl had a quizzical expression as she saw her pale skin and white hair. When Helen raised her head, Pearl stared into her red eyes. "It's rare to find another albino, but it's a better disguise then your friend down there."

"Well if that's how your gonna be," Amethyst scoffed, moving over to Nero. "Who are you?"

"Prometheus Nero." he said. "Nero for short."

"Do you two have cool nicknames?" Steven asked.

Nero smiled. "No, we don't- hey…" his shoved Gamma. "We survived your crazy adventures Victor! Now we get our names, right?"

"Of course." Gamma stood in front of him and Helen. "Choose whatever letter in the Greek alphabet you'd like."

Nero scratched his head, looking for a good letter. "Any suggestions?"

" _How about Digamma?"_ Psyche put forward.

Nero shook his head. "I may be a shade, but I am not Victor's copy."

"Hmmm…" Rho thought. "I was thinking Tau."

"Tau…a grand letter for a person like myself." Nero pressed his fingertips to his chest. "I will be Tau, a name fit for a Titan."

Gamma placed an arm on Nero's shoulder. "Tau it is then. What about you Helen?"

She was crouching, using her finger to draw a symbol in the sand. It was a single line with a smaller dash branching off at the middle. "I'll take this one."

"What is that?" Gamma asked. "It's like nothing I've ever seen."

"That's Eta." Pearl answered. "It isn't used anymore."

"If that's what you want Helen, then you will be Eta." Gamma said. "Psyche, update their registry."

Psyche complied. " _Registry updated. You know Victor, those two turned out alright."_

"Now, what have you've been doing lately Steven?" Upsilon had lowered himself to meet the boy's gaze.

Steven was hesitant to answer, as he didn't want to worry him. So much had happened to him since they've met. "Well, while we were out on the Gem Sloop, we fought a giant urchin!"

"You helped out?"

"Yeah! When those spines came shooting out I kept us all safe!" The gem in his belly flashed pink and a shield appeared onto his arm. He told them about their battle against the urchin, swinging his shield around, showing them how he protected the Gems. One of his swings went wide, and nearly hit Rho, but a well timed activation of his armor kept him safe.

Rho chuckled at the display, noticing the young boy's fear. "Nice shield." He summoned his own shield, a large golden hoplon that he placed at his feet. "Remember that when you hold it, you hold the lives of others in your hands. You have something few people ever get in a lifetime."

Steven stopped to think about what he said, and calmed down. "Well, how about you? What did you do?"

"We went to space." he held a arm out to his friends. "Your looking at seven certified astronauts." There were stars in Steven's eyes as he began to ask them what they saw.

Pearl's curiosity however exploded into full blown shock, which showed clearly on her face. "You went to space?"

"And we saw many things," Gamma explained to her. "But nothing like you." Pearl was still nervous, eyes shifting from each one of them. She hoped that that they didn't know too much.

Amethyst slapped Rho's thigh, a sly smirk as she looked up at him. "So, what can we do for a couple of tourists?"

"I don't speak for all of us," he said. "Any requests, guys?"

Gamma went up to the rest of them and shared a few words. Once their discussion was over Upsilon, Helen, and Epsilon created separate summoning circles.

Helen smiled as the bags she brought forth came into view. "There's a lot we can bring from the _Argo."_ Unzipping the first one she found her swimsuit. "We can't exactly go around in our armor."

"Money is an issue." Upsilon noted, as he held a lock box.

"That's true." Gamma said as he saw it, remembering it as the one where all their funds were kept. "But I have a feeling that this Earth doesn't use our money."

"Well I had a feeling about that," He opened the box and Gamma was left in awe as it was full of gold. Upsilon smiled at the look on his face. "That is why I diversify. I will have it converted immediately."

Epsilon was grabbing racks upon racks of kitchen materials: knives, flour, a mixer, anything he could get his hands on, delighted with himself. The Gems gathered around him, wondering what he was planning with them, Amethyst almost drooling at the possibilities. He held the racks of cutlery and food with his mind as he faced them. "As visitors, we should give something back. Luckily, I happen to be quite the pastry chef." he clapped his hands. "Now, who here likes pie?"

Steven raised his hand, "I do!"

"So do I." Pearl was drawn to the items, seeing them orbit Epsilon. "If I could, I would love to see you cook."

Epsilon nodded his head. "You can help me."

Rho was becoming more and more agitated, catching Gamma attention. He went to him, catching Rho's attention. "Something wrong?"

"Well…I did decide to come here for a different reason." Rho said with guilt, he knew that he would have to repent for his actions, but he would have to do that later. Now, he built up his courage and walked directly up to Garnet, who saw him coming and faced him. He didn't say anything, only covering his right fist with his other hand.

"If-if it isn't to much of a hassle for you," he started to say. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sparring with me. O-On your own time, of course."

Garnet didn't speak right away, making Rho even more worried that he said something wrong. Those thoughts were soon abated by her soft smile. "Sure, but after you see the city."

"Really?" Rho beamed with anticipation, but even still he looked back at the ocean, the tide making it's intermittent rushing sound.

"What's out there?" Nero said, concerned.

Rho shrugged once he was sure nothing was out there. "With all the sea monsters out there, and our bad luck, I half expected the Leviathan to show up."

Amethyst heard him and was confused. "Levia-wha?"

"An old legend; the Leviathan is the oldest, biggest, and most dangerous creature to exist on the planet." He raised his arm over the water. "It lies trapped in the deepest parts of the ocean, it has unbreakable mottled green skin, and it's teeth and claws can crush anything they find. Nothing on the Earth will spared from it's hatred once it is freed."

He turned back to see Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst visibly unsettled at his recounting, shooting glances at each other. "You haven't _seen_ it have you?"

Garnet was better at hiding her discomfort. "We have fought many creatures over the years. If your Leviathan is out there, we'll take it down."

Her fellow Gems was bolstered by her projected confidence, the mark of a true leader. "We should be getting inside," Pearl pointed out at the sun dropped lower in the sky. "You've got a lot of things to do."

"And these things are getting heavy." Epsilon complained, still levitating the racks. They all walked back to the temple, Helen pulling Upsilon to the back.

Helen tried to look affronted. "When were you going to tell me that _these_ were the creatures you told me about?"

"I thought it was obvious, you know with the off color skin and the jewels embedded in their 'bodies'."

"Don't do that Johann; you convinced Rho to come here didn't you?"

"No, he always wanted to fight Garnet. He spent many nights looking at the video I gave him of her fighting the Alphae. She…intrigues him."

"He's not the only one." She poked Upsilon, who huffed back at her.

Nero caught up to Gamma and handed him a shard of green stone. "Do you know what this is? I picked it up from the sand right off the pier."

"I had superheated the ground before, perhaps it's just glass." Gamma trusted his friend's intuition and pocketed the shard. He had to admit, it didn't look like normal glass…

"I can't believe you took up Alexander's challenge!" Pearl said to Garnet. "You know better than to use our strength against humans!"

"But they're not average humans are they?" Amethyst rebutted. "And besides, no one tougher than ol' G here, right Steven?"

Steven beamed, looking up at Garnet. "Yeah! You can take him!"

Garnet reached down and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll do my best." She couldn't help but anticipate the chance to fight someone who wasn't trying to kill her for once. It was a good way to take her mind off of Peridot and Malachite.


	2. The Main Event

It didn't take long for them to change into clothing more suitable for the beach. They placed their armor and weapons into a closet. It still felt strange to Gamma, not having it on, replacing it with a light jacket and green trunks. Omega found a pair of jeans to go with a black shirt, wanting to keep some of his trademark color. Helen wore a swimsuit of swirling red and white, a white sarong covering her legs, while Upsilon wore a simple white and blue tracksuit, which was what he had on when he had exchanged the gold for currency. After some convincing, Rho decided not to walk around in the gi he wore whenever his armor was deactivated, instead taking a sleeveless yellow shirt and some black trunks loose around the legs. Nero wore a more formal shirt and pants, both in royal purple.

Stowing their armor in the closet, they along with Steven, Amethyst, and Garnet began to walk out of the door. Holding the door open Rho looked back into the kitchen where Pearl and Epsilon were finishing setting up the last of the mixers and measuring cups. "You going to be okay back here Epsilon? I mean, there is a lion in there with you."

"Not a problem," Steven said. "Lion wouldn't hurt a fly! Isn't that right, Lion?" The pink beast lazily looked over to its master, rubbing its paw over its head. "See?"

Even though he didn't have to leave, Epsilon had taken off his armor, leaving on the skintight interface that was underneath, along with a apron matching the one Pearl had. He waved his hand at the door, never taking his eyes off of the counter. "I'll be fine here, go out and have fun."

Rho lingered for a few more seconds before closing the door behind him and joining the rest of them heading towards the city. Epsilon smiled to himself as he opened a cupboard full of spices. Holding a clear box of cinnamon, he smelled a strange aroma from the box. Pearl got done washing her hands to see him with the spice box, and her eyes widened in fear as Epsilon dropped the small box, falling to his knees and gasping for air. His throat was on fire, each breath only making it worse. She helped him up and got him to the fridge, Epsilon pulling out a full carton of milk and drinking nearly half of it until he felt okay enough to speak.

"That…was not cinnamon…" he wheezed.

"No, it wasn't." As Epsilon got his legs back under him, Pearl picked up the spice box, looking at it with scorn. "This is Fire Salt. I don't know what it was doing there; Amethyst's ill thought out idea of a prank, I bet. I swear, one of these days…"

"Some kind of alien spice only you can eat?"

Pearl shuddered at the thought. "Garnet might be inclined to, but I don't eat. Amethyst, well if it can fit in her mouth chances are she's going to swallow it."

"At least you're not picky." Epsilon's voice was still a little weak, but eager. "Time to get started; get the flour, I make my own pie crust."

 _"Hey let me speak to her!"_

"Sure."

"Hold on," Pearl tried to object. "Maybe that's not the best idea." Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad this time, she said to herself, and even if it was, she was making pie, nothing could ruin that for her.

 _"Hey, how's my favorite bivalve?"_

"Hello Psyche." Pearl grumbled. So much for that.

* * *

With the rushing sound of the waves washing onto the shore, the others were on their way to the city on the other side of the beach. Omega was out in front, wondering what kind of trouble he could get into. Steven and Amethyst were ahead, whispering things to each other, keeping out of earshot of the nearby Rho. Garnet was in the back with Helen and Upsilon, saying nothing to each other. Gamma and Nero were off looking at the ocean, staying with the group. As Gamma lost himself in the water, he started to sing.

 _"Mukai kaze ni tobitatsu ko no ha.  
Sukoshi houkou wo kaete arukou.  
Kimi ga te wo hiku."_

 _"Nanigenai hibi ni mo, shiawase wo nosete."_ Nero continued the song, the words coming to him as well. _"Wasureteta omoi ga, kaze no you ugokidashita, kimi no koe de."_

Helen and Upsilon sang the last bit together. _"Sunao ni warai aeru koto,  
nante subarashii kimochi darou! Aruku hayasa ni ki wo tsukete.  
Awasete kureru yasashisa ni, ai afureru…"_ They came closer to each other, Upsilon holding Helen's waist and their temples touching. _"Kimi to onaji aozora…"_

Everyone stooped doing what they were doing to look back at them. "Every time." Gamma said as he turned back to see them break away, as impassive as they always were. "You still catch me by surprise."

"That was amazing!" Steven slowed down to walk next to Gamma. "Were you in a band?"

Gamma shook his head. "No." He pointed to Upsilon and Helen. "They were, along with Nero."

"They were the singers." Nero clarified. "I just played the piano."

A flash of inspiration came to Steven. "I know who you have to see!" He ran off, passing a curious Omega as he made his way into the city. they jogged after him. They went through the main street, the denizens turning their heads at these new visitors. One of them, a lanky teen struggling with a cardboard box only got a glimpse of Rho before they almost collided. Neither of them were harmed, but the box fell to the ground, landing with a crunch.

"Hey, watch where your going!" He shouted before he truly saw Rho, and then he sputtered into silence, intimidated by his taller, wider build. Rho only picked up the box, noticing how heavy it was, and handed it back to him.

"Sorry about that." Rho quickly apologized. He looked back to see Garnet, Helen and Upsilon came up behind him. The teenager was only slightly calmer now; he should had known something was up when Steven ran by. As he noticed Helen, he couldn't say this was the worst thing that could have happened to him.

"Is everything alright?" Upsilon said.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I'll be with him for a little while longer; go on without me."

They passed Rho by so he could talk to the boy. He shifted the box in his arms, groaning as he heard something rattling inside. "Great, it's broken."

"You don't know that yet," Rho said. "But if you're right, I'll compensate you for any damages. Allow me to follow you to your destination."

They went together to a pastry shop; 'The Big Donut' spelled on the roof outside. The inside was well laid out and pleasing to the eye, the windows letting in a lot of light. Behind a counter, a girl of similar age was filling trays of donuts to be placed into racks behind the counter.

"Oh, you're back Lars!" she said as they came to the counter, setting the box down. "Whose's your friend? I'm Sadie by the way; never did get a nametag."

Rho introduced himself. "Alexander; I'm a guest of Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems."

"Apparently he feels sorry for breaking our new machine," Lars said as he opened the box. Now that they were side by side, Rho could see that there were holes in Lars's ears. "He even said he would pay us!"

"He would?" Sadie wasn't surprised; anyone who's a friend of Steven can't be too bad. Lars pulled a modified donut hole maker out of the box. As he checked all of the components, the only thing broken about it was a plastic case that held all of the screws.

Rho sighed internally; he really didn't want to pester Upsilon about money so soon. He still wanted to help these two out, however and reached into his pocket. "Well, if it's any consolation, I'll take a dozen-"

" _You might want to run that by Epsilon."_ Psyche interrupted. _"He isn't making all those pies for nothing."_

* * *

"While I admire your devotion to pie making," Epsilon said. "I kind of need those sweet potatoes now."

"They're not done yet!" Pearl was holding a peeled sweet potato in one hand, and a peeler in the other. "These eyes are hard to get off!"

"It's going to be fine." Epsilon tried to reach for the potatoes she was guarding. "You've done a great job. Now it's time to mash them up."

" _Epsilon, Rho wants to talk to you."_

"Put him on." as he heard Rho's request, he ground his teeth. "You're going to have to turn them down." Rho kept trying to explain, but Epsilon wouldn't budge. "Before this is over, we'll make it up to them, I promise." He picked up a knife to cut up the apples he had recently peeled. In the knife's reflection he saw not his own face, but a pair of amber eyes within matted white hair and scars that weren't his. The creature roared, teeth flashing, looking barely sane. He was overcome by its projected rage, frozen in place.

"Travis?" Pearl reached a hand out to Epsilon's shoulder. He turned his head to her, and Pearl gasped as lightning arced from the scar on his face and his eyes she remembered; they belonged to Jasper! As swift as the change happened, it ended. Once Epsilon returned to normal, he glanced over to the closet, the armor and weapons inside glinting behind the shades.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Epsilon went back to cutting the apples and putting them in the pot to boil. "I've gotten better at controlling it, but every now and then it spikes up."

Pearl wanted to learn more. "What happened to you?"

"I came in contact with the wrong kind of magic." He picked up a nearby mirror, touching the center of it. The mirror rippled with white energy, and Epsilon beckoned Pearl to it. With the mirror's new qualities, Pearl could see what Epsilon once looked like; the scar gone and with deep green eyes staring out back at her.

"When my friends were separated, they were cursed." he started to mash the sweet potatoes. "I was cursed with this long before then." he sighed, not really wanting to talk about it.

"How long ago?"

"I've bounced around reality for so long, I'm not quite sure. But I was twenty three when I put on the armor, and I never aged a day in fifteen years."

"You're immortal?" Pearl took a step back. This was not what she was expecting.

"As immortal as you are." Epsilon began to pour the the orange paste into its crusts. "I've heard quite a bit from Upsilon about you and your efforts to protect Earth, but what you were before is still a mystery to us. You did something before you came to Earth, right? I mean, you weren't always fighting monsters were you?"

"Uh..umm…sure…"

"Well before I fought, I cooked pies. If you learn anything from us, learn this: find something to do that reminds you of better times; constant battle wears on the soul as well as the body." With the oven preheated he and Pearl placed the pies inside. "It feels good to do this again, it's the closest I've felt to being normal."

Pearl could easily understand his plight; it was something she was constantly struggling with. Fighting monsters and taking care of Steven helped bury the feelings, but they never truly went away. Finding outlets for her stress turned out to be…troublesome. Travis seemed to be the one person she could talk to. "I'm happy to be of assistance."

"We're not done yet." Epsilon moved from the oven to the fridge, handing her a bag.

"Travis," Pearl said warily pulling out the green vegetable. "This is a cucumber."

"No, that's a zucchini." Epsilon grabbed a cheese grater a tossed it into her lap. "I don't understand it either, but were going to have to shred the entire bag."

* * *

"Dad!" Steven ran up to the local car wash where an old man was sitting in a folding chair, teaching someone in a red jacket and sunglasses how to play the guitar.

"Alright, now we'll move on to the major chords-Steven!" he put the instrument aside to talk to him. "What's my boy been up to?"

"Catching up with friends."

"What up Greg, Buck." Amethyst said as she walked up to Greg. The others came one by one.

"Who're the new guys?" Greg asked, spotting strangers among the Gems.

"For now, we are just tourists." Gamma said, shaking Greg's hand. "I'm Victor; with me are Nero, Helen, Johann, and Athanor."

Greg had been told about them by Steven. They looked human, and yet in a way they were just as alien as the Gems. He was getting too old for this. "Greg Universe; Steven's father. Nice to meet you." He looked past Gamma's shoulder. "Shouldn't there be one more of you? Alexander was his name?"

"He got tied up with Lars and Sadie." Garnet said. "He'll be along shortly."

As if on cue, Rho jogged up the street to join them. "Did I miss anything?"

"Nope!" Steven answered. "Just getting started!"

"We seem to be interrupting a lesson." Helen noted, moving closer to Buck. "Who are you?"

"Buck Dewey." he said reluctantly.

"You wouldn't happen to be related to Mayor Dewey, would you?" Upsilon asked.

Buck didn't answer. Upsilon in turn dropped his inquiry. "While it is nice to see your father Steven, what are we here to do?"

"Play for us!" he reached out and took his father's guitar, thrusting it into Upsilon's hands. He was caught off guard by the request. "I told dad how well you can."

Upsilon looked to Greg for approval, once he got it he re-tuned the guitar. So this was the one, the human chosen to be the emissary to the stars, he thought. And his name just happened to to be Universe! He had never believed in fate, but he loved irony.

He used the same pattern as before: strumming a few notes before starting. He shortened the song's length; there were still many things they had to see.

 _"I stole a ride on a passing star  
Not knowing where I was going,  
How near or how far.  
Through years of light, lands of future and past…  
Until the heavenly gates  
Were sighted at last!"_

 _"Speed increasing;  
All control is in the hands of those who know!  
Will they help us grow?  
To one day be starriders!"_

He put as much feeling as he could into the truncated lyrics, trying to tell Greg their story the fastest way he knew how. When he saw Buck, he was awestruck. Greg he paid more attention to; normally he wouldn't have cared, but he had to make sure the trends he was keeping track of were constant. "I am sorry." he said. "The songs I know are rather somber."

"Don't sell yourself short; you're a talented guy!" Greg said.

"I can show you the guy who taught me." Upsilon placed a hand over the communicator on his ear. "He's a bit more energetic."

* * *

"Put the grater down, we could use a break." Epsilon had gotten Upsilon's message just as he was finishing up the pies. the special dessert would take some more time, so he managed to tear Pearl away from cooking long enough to show her his other hobby. They stepped outside, the sun high in the sky.

"Pearl," Epsilon looked up. "What's on top of this temple."

She followed his eyes skyward. "There's the lighthouse…"

"Perfect." he stretched out a hand to Pearl. "Hold on."

She softly put her hand in his. "What are yo _ooooooooo-oh dear!"_ Pearl held on tighter as Epsilon lifted off, eventually climbing onto his back.

"What, you knew we could fly right?" He joked as they rose higher.

"Not without that armor!"

"Flight is easier for me than it is with the others." They went even higher, slowing down to take in the majesty of the stone statue in front of them. Even weathered and covered in moss, the face with its helm still carried with it power and a sense of focus. Above the statue was a gleaming white lighthouse, where they both landed on the balcony, Pearl jumping off of Epsilon. They could both see Beach City below them.

"Yes, this will do nicely." Epsilon glowed, his cobalt cloak appearing on his shoulders. It caught the wind coming up from the shore, cutting the image of a superhero. Pearl was silent as he then summoned his electric guitar. "They can hear me down there, guys?"

"Go for it." Upsilon said from the car wash. He stared immediately, the notes came faster and harder than what Upsilon had managed. His song was for Rho's eventual contest with Garnet. He wanted to pump his friend up, and he liked this song.

 _"You're taking a chance, risking it all  
For the thrill of the moment  
Taking a stand, you ain't gonna fall  
You've always known it…_

They're dying to shake you,  
Trying their best to break you.  
And though the going is rough, you're going home as a hero!

'Cause there's thunder in your heart!  
Every move is like a lightning!  
It's the power you feel when you get your taste of the glory…  
There's a fire gonna start!  
And you know they're going under!  
You can light the dark when they hear your heart of thunder!"

Epsilon stopped playing to listen to the cheering from the car wash. He smiled; still having the touch. "Rho, there's a loaf of zucchini bread back here for you,"

That caught his attention. "Really?" Rho loved zucchini bread, and Epsilon knew it.

"Yep, and you'll get the whole thing if you win."

There was the sound of a tussle on the other end and the voice of Amethyst. "You tryin' to bribe your way to a win?"

"Not at all. If you win you'll get some too."

She gave the communicator back to Upsilon. "Garnet," she pleaded, grabbing onto her leg. "You have to beat Alexander; I've never had zucchini bread!"

Garnet looked over to Rho. "She really wants that bread."

Rho smirked. "You'll have to go through me to get it."

"Wait, am I missing something here?" Greg asked.

"Garnet's going to fight Alexander." Steven answered. Greg nearly fell out of his chair hearing that. He'd seen Garnet fight monsters as tall as the car wash, and this guy thought he was going to win? He recomposed himself before speaking. "Well good luck with that, Alex."

"Thank you." Rho said back. "We're sorry for disturbing you."

"Disturbing us?" Buck said as he stood up, pulling out his smartphone to take a picture of them. "You guys are out of this world!"

Omega smiled and took a step towards him. "You don't even know the half of it."

"Where are we off to now?" Helen asked Steven.

"There's Funland-"

Helen was elated at his answer. "Oooh, an amusement park; let's go there!" She walked off, dragging Upsilon behind her. They all went with them, except Amethyst who whispered something to Buck Dewey before leaving herself. She snickered to herself; if the plan Steven and she had works this match will be one for the history books!

* * *

"They seem to be having fun." Pearl said, a finger digging into her ear. Rock music never did appeal to her.

"Good for them." Epsilon agreed, floating off of the lighthouse. He left his hand out again for Pearl to take.

"I'll walk."

* * *

It took a bit of doing to get everyone in the amusement park, apparently Steven had gotten himself banned due to some incident last year with the teacup ride. It didn't make much sense to Gamma until he noticed that the ride in question was fifty feet in the air. Mr. Smiley, the aptly named manager, allowed Steven in for the sake of the tourists he brought with him. After all of that Helen's first stop was a concession stand. Mr. Smiley was also there.

"Now, what can I get for you?"

"Root beer." Helen replied, arm resting on the countertop. "Biggest cup you got."

She wasn't given a cup, instead she was given a blue bottle made of glass, complete with a cork. "You would not _believe_ how far I've gone for this." She popped the cork as soon as the bottle was handed to her and guzzled a third of it down, Amethyst chanting "Chug! Chug! Chug!" as she did. Upsilon paid for the drink, sighing to himself.

"You're a lifesaver Mr. Smiley. Johann," Helen panted as she handed the bottle to him. "You _have_ to try this."

He took a sip. The flavor was sweet and creamy, yet there was a smokey hint along with the heavy fizz of carbonation. He never shared his master's enthusiasm for root beer, he was more of a ginger ale person, but this was a fine replacement. He paid for his own bottle and they continued on their way.

The sun had started to set, the sky turning a faint orange when Gamma saw it. He grabbed Rho's shoulder as he almost walked by it as well. When he saw it, he stopped the rest of them pointing at the ride.

"This is the one we have to get on."

"The Space Saucer?" Steven wondered. It was just that; a flying saucer. Why were they so interested in it didn't make sense right away.

Upsilon answered his question. "It has a different name back home; the Gravaton. It is kind of a tradition for us to ride it at least once a year."

"And we haven't since we put on this armor." Gamma finished. "So we have to do it now." He paid for all of them to get in. The inside of the machine was flat, and there was a outer ring of panels painted like space. Rho positioned himself so that his resulting cartwheel got him on the panel upside down.

Omega was standing around confused as every one else took their places. Steven got onto Amethyst's shoulders so they could fit into one panel, while Helen and Garnet simply stood in their own panels. He turned to Gamma. "What kind of ride is this?"

"It's a giant centrifuge. Upsilon, get my legs." Gamma was lifted up by Upsilon, and Omega was convinced to hold is arms, placing him sideways along four panels. With all of them ready, Mr. Smiley stood in the center and turned it on. The Space Saucer spun, picking up speed and soon enough it was fast enough that Rho could let his hands off of the floor. Upsilon and Omega let go of Gamma then, leaving him to hang freely. Omega felt the force pressing in on him, but that was nothing compared to the feeling of disorientation. It was like the world was tilting around them. Even so, he was shouting with the others in enjoyment.

They left the ride refreshed; felling a little lighter than when they entered. "How was it Omega?" Gamma said as they walked on. "It's no roller coaster, but it is the first time you've been on that kind of ride."

"That was okay," Omega admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "But now I'm really anxious for that fight."

"Hey!" A voice called out. "Someone out there wants a fight?" They turned to the arcade, where a mechanical boxing dummy out front was taunting anyone who came across him. Rho walked up to him and placed a quarter into the slot at its base.

"Give me your best shot!" the boxer said. "You'll need it to take the belt from me!"

"I would advise you not to do that." Upsilon said as Rho brought his hands up.

"You sound like I'm going to break it." Rho didn't take his eyes off of the opponent.

"I meant that showing your hand to Garnet so soon can not be a good thing."

Rho wasn't dissuaded as he rose up to the balls of his feet, bouncing back and fourth. The motions were second nature to him, and it felt good that he could take his time. "Don't be so worried; I won't show her much."

He smiled, taking a southpaw stance, his right arm hanging low and in front. He was an orthodox fighter, but well versed in both ways. As smooth as a whip the arm lashed out and the fist unfurled, only the longer fingers hitting the bridge of the nose. A creaking sound was heard and the dummy rocked backwards on its stand.

"My nose!" The dummy said, lights flashing around him. "You've got the punch of a champion, that's for sure!"

Amethyst was in awe. "Woah." Steven was left speechless, mouth agape at the show of strength.

Rho was happy with the result, Helen patting him on the back. "A combination of power and precision; not bad."

"This arcade has air hockey?" Gamma asked Steven.

The boy smiled as he looked up at Gamma. "You thinking what I'm thinking, Victor?"

"Is the answer 'Air Hockey Tournament'?"

"Oh yeah!" Steven raised his hand and high-fived Gamma. They never did set up brackets, and just played to their heart's content.

* * *

Epsilon collapsed onto a nearby cushion, taking his oven mitts off and wiping his forehead. The pastries were finished, out of the oven and onto the cooling racks on the counter. That didn't keep the house from getting hot, however. Pearl opened the windows and smelled the multiple aromas coming from the the sweets closing her eyes to take it all in. It was going to be as close as she got to actually eating.

"A job well done!" she said, putting her hands together. "I must admit; you are a good-" she noticed where Epsilon was and snorted with laughter. "Travis…you might want to get off of Lion."

Epsilon jumped to his feet, the fluffy animal walking away to nap somewhere else. Despite it being there the whole time, he managed to ignore it the whole time he was cooking. "What can I say, he was comfy." he said, brushing it off. He picked up his communicator to check up on the guys. Surely they were having fun out there. "How's it going?"

"We're on the Ferris Wheel now." Omega replied. "We can see your house from up here!"

"What about the Gems?"

"Wait just a moment." there was brief pause before he heard Steven on the other side. "Hey Travis! Is the cooking going well?"

"We're done over here. All you have to do is find something for dinner."

"Awwwwwww, can't we just have pie?"

"You can't have dessert for dinner." Garnet chided.

"My friends haven't been a hassle, have they?" Epsilon asked.

"If you don't count one of them being a cheater!" Amethyst shouted.

"Hey, it's not my fault if you pushed the puck into your own goal." Omega said back.

Garnet's head leaned to Amethyst. "You did do that."

The small purple Gem flopped in her seat, knowing that there was no point in arguing. "Whatever." She'd get them back, they were already trapped without knowing it.

Epsilon sighed. Air hockey; he had been their before. He was happy that he didn't see what happened. "So, when are you coming back?"

"Apparently they're having an event at this warehouse right off shore." Gamma said. "We'll come back right after we see what's going on."

"See you then." Epsilon put the communicator down and looked at Pearl. "Well, we've got time to kill, so do you have any questions for me?"

She had so many, but she started with the most obvious. "What made you want to fight?"

* * *

Rho couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong as they got closer to the warehouse. He expected people to be flocking around, but what caught his eyes was that those people were staring at them, whispering to each other. It seemed to be a little He spotted Lars and Sadie among them, the two confused by his presence. He did have to leave them on short notice, maybe that was it?

His concerns drifted away when he saw the boxing ring in the center of the warehouse. He walked up to it, placing his hands on the mat, running them along the ropes, feeling the memories come back to him. Steven saw him reminisce, and tears welled up in Rho's eyes. "Alexander, are you okay?"

"It's just…I haven't seen a ring like this in a long, long time." Rho admitted. "I'm a little nostalgic."

A man in a grey business suit saw them come in. Using the megaphone in his hand he greeted them from the other side of the ring."Ah, it looks like you've finally arrived!" He hid his disappointment as he approached them, as he was hoping that Pearl would be with them. She'll be here soon, at any rate."It was short notice, but I hope it's to your liking."

"It's perfect Mayor Dewey." Steven said.

"So this is a government endorsed match? Who's on the card?" Rho wondered.

The mayor blinked in confusion. "Why, you and Garnet of course!" he snapped his fingers and a member of security handed them a flyer. The bewildered guests who had somehow not known they had wandered into their own match, gathered around the flyer. It was a sketch of both Garnet and Rho, staring each other down, their fists raised to fight. Minus their names and the time and information, the phrase 'Flesh and Bone vs Dust and Stone' under the two images.

"How?" Gamma said. "We've only came today, and even you didn't know we would show up. Who could have had time to set all of this up?"

Garnet already knew the answer.

* * *

From a hole torn from the warehouse's brick wall, Amethyst slipped away to meet with a woman handing out flyers, her blond hair shaped like an onion. "Thanks for the help, Vidalia; that was a great flyer you made." Amethyst's praise brought a grin on her friend's face. "This was a big favor I had to ask from you."

"I wouldn't have done it for anyone else." The older woman said. "All I managed was a pencil sketch." she rubbed her wrist. "A good challenge, but I don't have the hands for it anymore."

"Ah you're only getting better!" Amethyst said, brushing her hair aside. "I can't wait to see the look on their faces!"

"Amethyst!" She turned to see Garnet, her hands on her hips. Under her was Steven, looking ashamed, not even able to turn his sight from the sand. Judging by the frown on her face, Amethyst was in for a stern talking to.

"Sorry," Vidalia said. "You're on your own with this one."

* * *

Garnet had assembled everyone into a adjoining room, away from everyone else. Even Pearl and Epsilon had been called to see what had happened. They surrounded Amethyst and Steven.

"Explain yourselves." Garnet ordered. The accused trembled, feeling their leader's gaze on them.

"We came up with the idea earlier, as we saw Dad." Steven started. "Then Buck took your picture and it sort of snowballed."

"I told Buck to send the picture to Sour Cream, who gave it to Vidalia." Amethyst continued. "Buck must have convinced the mayor to set up the ring."

"Most likely for publicity." Pearl reasoned

"I'm not angry." Garnet said. "I just thought you'd use a little more foresight."

Noticing that Steven and Amethyst didn't understand, Garnet told them of the significance of their actions. "To us, this is just a friendly spar, but to the audience it'll be me; the leader of Beach City's protectors, against an upstart from parts unknown. That will make the fight an uphill battle for Alexander, who will have the crowd against him."

"Not only that," Gamma realized. "But whoever wins would be considered the mightiest fist on two planets, for all to see."

"In other words," Rho said. "This just became a bout for the inter-dimensional champion of Earth." This has long since fallen out of their hands. Somehow, he knew this was always a bad idea.

"Should we cancel this?" Epsilon thought. He didn't know where to start, but they would come up with a plan.

Helen could only chuckle to herself at the turn of events. "I like your style Steven Universe. Why not play this game? What's the point of a contest is there isn't a crowd to cheer you on?"

"Problems aside, this is a better format." Upsilon said. "It has rules and systems suitable for our use."

Nero was stunned the Upsilon was considering this. "We don't have the resources-"

"Clothes and gear are not an issue."

"We need a physician!"

"I've called for one." Steven said. "She'll be here shortly." Nero didn't bother to say anything else, as he could clearly see that there was no stopping them. He just buried his hands into his face.

Rho looked at Upsilon. "Go to the organizers and negotiate terms."

"Pearl, you go with him." Garnet ordered, and they both left.

* * *

Preparations were quickly made; the match would be three rounds at five minutes each to begin in the next hour. Both Gamma's group and the Crystal Gems took rooms across from each other. From each side one was selected to go visit the other. As Upsilon made his way to their room, he went past a young girl on the way there. He noted her for future reference as he enter the room for the Crystal Gems.

Garnet was on her knees, meditating, or at least that's what Upsilon thought she was doing. She had changed into a grey sports bra and black and red trunks. Her gloves were an imitation of her gauntlets: deep red with yellow stars on the back. Seeing the made him remember that her gemstones, her true body, was within her hands. That complicates things. There was so little he knew about these creatures, he didn't like that, but now he had a chance to change it.

"How is your condition?" He asked.

"Everything is fine." Garnet replied, not even moving." I have been looked over by Dr. Maheswaran here." her hand drifted to the left, where the doctor had been standing writing on a clipboard.

As Upsilon approached her, he noticed that she looked like the girl he had passed. "I take it that Garnet is fit enough for this fight?"

She didn't look up from the clipboard. "She's fit." Upsilon was taken aback, not by her words, but by her voice. He wasn't sure if the others would respond as well to her when they heard it. At the very least, her answer confirmed that she was aware of the Gems unique physiology.

Amethyst leered at him. "You're not going to spy on us, are you?"

"I was told not to speak on the things I have seen here, and so I will not. Besides, Pearl will get her chance as well." he nodded at Pearl.

"Even if you did, there's no way anyone could beat Garnet!" Steven said confidently, Garnet chuckling at his claim.

"Oh?" Upsilon bent over to look at Steven's face. "What makes you think that?"

"You should know; you've seen her take on giant monsters. They were way stronger than Alexander!"

"Monsters do not think tactically." Upsilon rebutted. "How long has it been since your leader has fought an intelligent opponent?"

Steven knew what would change his mind. "Jasper!" he leaped to Pearl's side. "Show him!"

Pearl was going to argue against it, but pride trumped reason, and the gem on her forehead shined as she did what he asked. A hologram displaying a hulking woman, taller than either Upsilon or Garnet. Grinning wickedly, the image was one of pure aggression. Upsilon noticed that there was a gemstone in place of her nose. This must be Jasper; another Gem they must have fought, Upsilon thought.

"Thanks Pearl."

"Not a problem, Steven."

"So, Garnet was able to defeat this enemy? Impressive." Upsilon placed his hand outward and a came from his hand, showing a woman of similar size and shape. "Rho has had his fair share. This is Thrym; she thought her strength was unmatched as well. In the end, she could not even put a crack his armor."

"He won't be able to use it in the ring." Amethyst said, thinking they had the upper hand now.

"The armor is a physical representation of his will, just as your weapons are." He looked back down to Garnet. "Thrym's punches could break the sound barrier. Can you hope to break Rho?"

She stood up. "Just watch me." To everyone's surprise, she took off her shades in front of Upsilon.

He gave a soft smile as he saw Garnet's face for the first time. "You are something quite different. I'm glad it turned out this way."

* * *

Rho spent his time throwing punches at pads being worn by Epsilon. He was wearing a thin black shirt, tight on his chest, as well as yellow trunks. His gloves were also yellow, a black 'X' on the top. He was as quick as ever, able to counter and strike back with exceptional skill. All of his friends were sitting on the bench, watching him practice. Pearl had just walked in to see this strange spectacle, thinking about the mindset humans must have to consider this kind of combat as sport.

"Hey Rho," Gamma said, seeing her walk in. "What was your record, back when you were on the circuit?"

"Fifteen and two!" He replied, landing a kick to Epsilon's rib that knocked him over. "Best record in my weight class." He helped Epsilon up and he sat on the bench as well.

"You're even stronger now." Omega said, a grin spreading on his face as Rho turned to see Pearl. "It's not every day that people lift skyscrapers."

"I only held up a corner." Rho said. He wanted to be completely honest to Pearl.

"But you did break it in half."

"Yes." At that time Dr. Maheswaran walked in and as soon as she opened her mouth to speak, everyone besides Pearl and Upsilon stared at her. "Sorry about that." Rho said as he took off his shirt and gloves. "Your voice is familiar to us; it didn't belong to the nicest person."

"I've dealt with worse patients," the doctor brushed it off and went to work, pulling out her stethoscope to check his heartbeat and breathing. "But none with that particular quirk." She began rattling off questions. "Your name?"

"Alexander Saul."

"Age?"

"Twenty-four."

"Height and weight?"

"Six feet, six inches; one hundred and ninety-eight pounds."

Dr. Maheswaran took a small flashlight from her coat and examined his eyes. "Looks to me like you have a rough fight ahead."

"I know. Garnet has at least twenty pounds and a five inch reach advantage on me." Rho admitted. "I'll be fine once I get in the ring."

"O-oh I doubt that." Pearl said snidely, holding back a laugh.

"And what makes you so sure?" Nero asked.

Pearl was taken aback. "We-well, he's…I mean…"

"Don't be shy," Helen prodded. "You mean to say 'he's only human' right?" her red eyes seemed to look through Pearl, and the Gem was ashamed. In the corner of Helen's vision she saw someone draw their head back from the doorway. She pointed at it, and Omega got up and placed a hand to the wall, the hand passing clear through.

"She not the only shy one." he said, feeling a shoulder on the other side. He pulled back, yanking the same girl Upsilon passed by into the room. She was hyperventilating, too shocked at going through a wall to scream.

"Connie!" Pearl shouted. "What were you doing there!"

"Spying, no doubt." Upsilon said to Pearl. "Did you send her?"

Connie broke free from Omega's grip. "No one put me up to this! I just wanted to make sure that Garnet had the best chance to win!"

"I'm sorry for my daughter's behavior." Dr. Maheswaran hurriedly said.

Rho walked up to Connie kneeling to see his face. "Nothing to forgive. Are you a friend of Steven, Connie?"

"Yes."

"Then you should have some of his faith. My friends believe in me, and I believe in myself. You and Garnet must be the same to have a chance." He stood up and went back to the center. "Behold; the power of faith."

His muscles tensed as power coursed through them, and a flame like aura surrounded him. The good doctor left, having her fill of weird for tonight. His power swelled with every breath he took, goosebumps rising from his skin.

"Rho is the strongest martial artist on Earth." Upsilon said to their two visitors. "If Garnet can beat him, then there is no one left who can win that way. Take solace in that."

The cheers of the crowd grabbed Rho's attention and his aura faded. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time. You two need to go set up your introduction, and so do we."

* * *

The seats were packed, as everyone who lived near the warehouse had come. People were even crowding outside, spectating through the hole in the wall. The lights went dim, accenting the center of the ring as a microphone descended from the ceiling. The first to come out to the ring was Nero in his Roman armor.

He grabbed the microphone and began to speak. "Citizens of Beach City! We have come from a far away place to seek a true challenge! And here we have found it in your protectors! The only question that remains is if they can defeat our champion!" The audience could hear the marching of metal coming from the back of the main aisle, becoming louder every second. "Ladies and gentlemen, witness the Labarum personified, the man with a heart made of steel, Alexander 'Rho' Saul!"

Rho and the other stepped in time with each other, all of them with their armor and weapons, a dazzling mix of gold, sliver, and onyx. No one knew what to make of them. With Gamma at his side and the others flanking him, they looked like soldiers from different eras coming together. Before Rho got to the ring, he stopped, a faint clicking coming from his armor as the latches released.

Like a squire, Gamma took off every piece of his friend's armor, leaving him with his trunks, shirt, and gloves. Handing off his sword and shield to Gamma, Rho pulled the ropes apart and took his first steps inside, giving a thumbs up to his friends behind him. He basked in the spotlight, taking in the old feeling. This…this was a good feeling.

With his introduction over, Nero left to be replaced by Steven. When he couldn't reach the microphone, Rho pulled it down for him. "We have seen the challenger," Steven said. "And we are not afraid! If you want our best, you've got it! Don't say I didn't warn you! We bring you Garnet, the leader of the Crystal Gems!"

Garnet walked out with the cheers of the crowd behind her, and her team at her side. Rho and the others were shocked to see that Garnets face was exposed, and Rho's eyes met all three of her's. Her eyes were each a different color: the left blue, the right red, and the third eye in the center of her forehead a vibrant purple. She stood in front of Rho, the two of them on edge to get started as they heard the rules. For as nervous as Rho was, he didn't feel like Garnet was that much taller than him here. After they both went to their corners.

"So," Omega started. "Is anyone going to explain that?"

"Heterocromia iridum." Upsilon answered. "A rare condition."

Omega realized then that he didn't like Upsilon's sense of humor, but decided not to slap him for it. "And having three eyes is normal to you?"

"Creatures that are not human have a different view of 'normal' Omega."

"But what does this mean?" asked Epsilon.

"It could mean many things," Rho said. "But for now it means that we passed the first hurdle."

"What was that?"

"We saw the Third Eye and didn't die immediately." Rho smiled at the news. "We have done all we can to prepare; the rest is out of our hands." He got on his knees and began to recite the words of the Preacher: _"I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."_ He knew in his heart that he could not lose, not as long as he understood that he was not alone. Placing his mouthguard in and making sure it was a tight fit before turning towards the other corner of the ring.

"Ha, ha; look at them!" Amethyst said from their corner. "Weren't expecting that, were they?"

Garnet wasn't as enthusiastic. "Don't underestimate them."

"Alexander is another kind of human entirely." Pearl said, still a little shell shocked. "I'm not quite sure what he is."

"It won't matter," Connie said. "With Garnet's Future Vision, she's invincible!"

"I'm not." Garnet said. "There are things even I can't see." After all her years on Earth, she understood how unpredictable humans could be. Rho would be no different.

Steven held her mouthpiece out for her to take. "No matter what, have fun out there okay?" She put the mouthpiece in and smiled at him before getting ready.

The referee signaled for each fighter to be ready, and they both nodded in agreement. With a chop of his hand, the first round started, the audience roaring in celebration. As the approached each other they reached out one arm to each other, touching gloves in a show of sportsmanship. They returned to their stances right after, trying to find gaps in the other's guard.

Rho shuffled his feet, circling Garnet, who only pivoted to keep Rho in her line of sight. Rho saw that while her two eyes watched where he was going, the third eye was independent, attracted to the movements of his hands. Inspiration hit Rho fast, and he would have to act faster. He dropped his hand and feigned a right kick, and as that eye was drawn to his foot, he sent two jabs with his left to her head. They were both faster than the the one he used at Funland, appearing to everyone else as a flicker of color. And yet Garnet slipped them both only by moving her head, leaving Rho stunned with disbelief. She countered with a right hook that landed on Rho's temple with a thud that could be heard by everyone, and they cringed with imagined pain.


	3. To the Very Limit

Rho was still standing after Garnet's hook; he had taken worse blows just to get here. Still, that one really hurt. Through the pain he ducked under the following straight and advanced into her guard, landing a blow to Garnet's body. She backed off a single step, throwing a defensive jab that Rho caught in his palm. Everybody in the crowd cheered; the match wouldn't be over just yet!

Having taken the middle of the ring, Rho then tried to push her into the corner. But Garnet was able to deflect the strikes meant to harm her, and dodge the ones that were meant to trap her. To Rho, it was like she could tell the difference between the two before he could throw them. Even so he noticed that Garnet was dodging without moving, her focus on his fists so absolute. ' _Perhaps that was the flaw in her Third Eye...'_ he thought.

With no time to second guess himself, he switched from pure boxing to Muay Thai, performing a short kick that only just cleared the ground. It caught Garnet in the shin, causing her to stagger back into the corner. Her response was to clinch, wrapping him up with double underhooks and using her heavier body to force him into the ropes. He drove knees into her ribs in an attempt to escape but he was truly trapped. He weathered the blows as well as he could, protecting his face, but leaving his body open. Garnet slipped an uppercut under Rho's elbows, finding his liver.

For a second Rho's vision swam and his knees buckled, but he refused to fall. All he had to do was keep that red blur in front of him. Spotting a straight coming at him, he intercepted it with his elbow. It stopped the punch, and did something strange as well. Garnet's entire body seized up and flickered, going out of focus like a television with bad reception. It only lasted for a moment, but it was enough for both corners to notice. Rho took advantage and got away from Garnet and back out into the center of ring. She followed him into the center of the ring, taking a more aggressive posture as time ticked down. She came in hard, not letting the previous shock get to her. Her leg raised up and came down in a quick red slash, almost knocking Rho to his knees.

Garnet sparked into action, grabbing Rho's head and began wrapping her arm tight around his neck. Rho's eyes went wide, he knew what this was; the Guillotine Choke, a submission hold! Immediately he forced his hand in the gap between Garnet's arm and his neck. Unconcerned, Garnet lifted him up, strangling Rho. His breathing was shallow, but the hand he wedged in the way kept him from suffocating. But he was still stuck as she tightened her grip, only able to throw a few feeble punches to her midsection. Despite their ineffectiveness he kept punching the same spot, right under the ribcage until Garnet had to loosen her grip due to the pain.

Rho took the chance and used all of his strength to pry himself from the hold. Getting free, he started to advance when the referee stood between the two. Only then did he hear the bell. He bitterly returned to his corner, where Gamma pulled out the stool for him to sit on.

"Alright," Rho said as he pulled out his mouthguard and sat down. "What's the damage? It feels like someone slapped a brick across my face."

Omega pressed down on Rho's forehead and when he let off, Rho could see a streak of blood across it. Rho ran his hand across the right side of his face until he felt a sharp pain.

Omega smiled when he noticed. "You got cut there with that first hit. Should have seen the other corner; looked like they were going to have a fit! Especially Pearl, thought she was going to faint..."

"Why?" Helen asked, watching Gamma place ice on the wound.

"They do not fight humans," Upsilon said. "And Gems do not bleed. Rho, you will not be able to win holding back as you are."

"There's a saying fighters have," Rho said. "' The first round is data.' Any ideas on what that Third Eye is?"

"Clairvoyance?" Epsilon asked. "Or some other kind of future sight?"

"If Garnet could see the future, Rho couldn't have hit her, much less take her off guard."

"She can see _a_ future, but not necessarily _the_ future." Gamma theorized, seeing this kind of decision making before. "Keep your options open Rho, and she'll either clam up trying to figure out what might happen, or take a big risk you can capitalize on." The whistle sounded from the outside of the ring.

"Seconds out, Victor." Nero reminded him. He smiled on the inside; he had always wanted to say that.

"Right Tau." Gamma handed Rho his mouthpiece and left the ring.

* * *

"Alright, lookin' good G!" Amethyst said as Garnet came back to her corner. Garnet however wasn't in such high spirits as she sat down. "Why so glum?"

"That counter was supposed to knock him out." Pearl deducted. "It was a great punch...Alexander is a tough one."

"It's fine." Garnet grumbled. "Just a little lax on that hook."

"He nearly caught you with that elbow! You have to be more careful!"

"What happened there?" Connie whispered to Steven during Pearl's tirade."Garnet looked like she was going to fall apart."

Steven thought about it, this not the first time he's been in the ring. "She must have hit Alexander's elbow hard enough to really do a number on her."

Connie remembered that Garnet's only vital points, her gems, were in the palms of her hands. Hitting a bony part of the body like the elbow can't be good in the long run. She walked up to Garnet, catching her attention. "No matter what happens stay on the offensive; he can't guard forever."

Garnet agreed as the whistle sounded and she stood up. From the outside of their corner, Steven had his eyes fixed on the other side.

"What're you looking for over there?" Amethyst said.

"Chanting."

Pearl looked down at the boy. "Chanting?"

"Yeah." Steven told her. "You haven't seen it yet, but when Alexander chants, he swells with energy. It's what he did to summon his armor. He hasn't done it yet."

Inwardly Pearl became even more worried. If Alexander could get even stronger...she shook her head to clear her thoughts. Garnet could handle this, it was only a matter of time.

* * *

The Third Eye. The Six Chakra. To have the mind of Christ...these thoughts and more echoed in Rho's head as he confronted Garnet again. She wasn't omniscient, that was impossible, but she was an incredibly dangerous opponent to handle. But there was no fear in his eyes, nor was there any in Garnet's as the bell sounded. He raised his guard high and advanced steadily, but Garnet simply dashed into him, crouched low enough to meet Rho face to face.

The pressure forced Rho into his own corner as he tried to withstand this new aggression. Using a knee to create space, he nailed her with a left-right combination that halted her momentum. He started to slip out of the corner to his left, and as Garnet anticipated the move, Rho stopped and pivoted, the distance enough for a backfist. Although blocked, it pushed Garnet into the corner Rho left, and he backed off to the center of the ring.

Garnet chased him down, staying on the offence. Rho stood his ground and traded blows with with her, the two bobbing and weaving away from as many punches as they could. A low kick from Garnet broke the exchange, and Rho darted away from the follow-up uppercut. Rho shuffled around, moving his arms in a circular pattern to keep her guessing. Not dissuaded, Garnet threw a short body hook that landed on Rho's forearm that had the important function of keeping him still. But the lack of damage meant Rho could see the side kick coming from the opposite side. He braced himself as it connected, and before the leg could come back, he caught it and held it to his side.

Both Garnet's eyes and Rho's smile widened at the same moment. Stepping forward and hooking her grounded foot Rho shoved Garnet, the two of them falling to the mat.

"Garnet!" Pearl screamed.

"Now's your chance!" Gamma cried above the cheering crowd. "Take her down!"

Rho had Garnet in full guard and he rained down the heaviest blows he could onto her face. Hammerfist after hammerfist slammed home, the force of the impacts shaking the entire ring. Garnet reached out and grabbed Rho's arms and held him down. As time ticked away before the ref broke them up, Rho made a hasty decision. He scrunched up until his toes touched the mat, once that happened he attempted to stand up. The audience and the corners went silent as they witnessed the sight of Rho struggling to a standing position while Garnet, who was over a foot taller than him, was clinging to his upper body.

And stand up he did, finding his balance, and slamming Garnet down on her back with a heavy thud, getting his arms free. But the bell rang out and he was forced to get off. He was confident as he returned to to Gamma and the others.

* * *

"That was quite a brutal display Rho." Helen commented with a sly grin. "I didn't think you could do it."

Upsilon was his usual pragmatic self. "Your attacks will likely be shrugged off again. Garnet recovers stamina much faster than you. The effort is admirable Rho, but you are out of time."

Rho laughed at him, leaving Upsilon puzzled for a brief second. "I have more than enough time. I've never lost a fight that went to the final round."

"Are you promising us a win?" Epsilon said.

"I can't say that either." Rho replied. He had come to realize that if not for his prior training, he would have lost long ago. Now the end was here, and all that was left was to see this through. He placed his hands together and cleared his mind. "Heavenly Father, you have given me the strength and courage to endure all of my hardships up to now. No matter what happens next, I thank you for the opportunity bestowed upon me." He had all the training he needed to win, just let go and feel the wind.

"Hey Rho!" Omega said, breaking Rho's concentration. Change Garnet's name to Gravel for me okay?

* * *

Pearl's eyes narrowed. "What's he muttering over there..."

"He must be chanting!" Connie realized.

"Then all we can do is push harder!" Amethyst patted Garnet on the shoulder. "You've taken the best he's got to offer, all you have to do is wrap this up!"

Garnet only nodded. If she had to be completely honest, she thought this would be over by now. These humans from another Earth were a capable bunch, if a little odd. What was more aggravating was this crowd; she would rather have fought Alexander at the Sky Arena. Too late to complain now, all that was left was this last round. When she didn't hear Steven, she turned to him. He was unsettled, his eyes wide with shock. "What's wrong?"

"It's just...I didn't think Alexander would react that way." It was hard for Steven to describe. Alexander was a kind person, he didn't seem like the one to attack someone who couldn't fight back.

Garnet understood his hesitation, it was a kind of brutality he wasn't used to even after so many missions with them. "He is a respectable competitor giving it his all. His actions are not meant to do lasting harm. Besides, neither him or me want to squander the chance you took all the time to give us. Now, leave your concerns behind, you're supposed to be giving me confidence."

That snapped him out of his melancholy. "R-Right! Get out there and show them what you can do!"

* * *

A mere ten minutes ago Rho and Garnet stood across from each other. It felt more like a eternity for everyone except those two however. They once again stood at their respective corners, ready to see how the other would decide to end this. The bell rung and the audience cheered, but was stunned at the fact that Rho didn't have his guard up. He slid from side to side on the mat, seemingly testing his footwork. What was even more of a shock was that Garnet didn't move in, body tense in watching his motions.

"What's up with her? She looks lost." Gamma whispered. The pattern Rho was using wasn't hard to follow, Garnet should be able to pick it apart.

Upsilon looked closer at the two of them and spotted the issue. "Watch Garnet's eyes."

Gamma paid closer attention to her three eyes, despite his uneasiness. What he found was weird to say the least. The two 'normal' eyes were following Rho, but that third eye was just out of sync, a split second slow. No one else but them would have caught it. "It's like she seeing two Rhos out there."

Rho began his advance and Garnet threw caution to the wind and stepped in to engage. Rho started with a right straight from long range, and as Garnet brought her arm up to block, he drew back and spun, his right leg sailing off of the ground. The feint completely blindsided Garnet, Rho's roundhouse landing square on her cheek with incredible force. The entire warehouse was in an uproar, the din drowning out the advice from the corners. Rho kept going, slipping a wide hook and jumping up, his knee crashing into her chin. All of his fights were like this; his endurance and will overwhelming his opponents at the final rounds. With this unshakable momentum, he would put Garnet away.

Garnet had other plans. Pushing away the pain, she hit him with a uppercut as he came down. Connecting a combination of a jab and a body blow, she came in with a right cross. She had come to realize that Pearl was right before. She had underestimated Alexander; he didn't care about what the people who saw his strength thought of him, all that mattered was now. She grinned at him, if that was how he wanted to do this then fine, she'll oblige.

Refusing to move, Rho leaned back and responded with a left cross. The two fists passed by each other, the heavy thuds from both hitting their targets. Garnet's height and reach gave her the advantage, and she tossed him away, Rho stumbling and falling to the ground. Garnet was going to be on Rho too fast or him to get up, so he didn't. Instead, as she was about to fall on him, he kicked out with one leg, firmly planting it in her chest. Garnet was stopped in her tracks, and gave Rho time to stand.

The two fighters were beyond caring how much pain it took to bring the other down. They collided into each other forcefully in the center of the ring, and swung with all their might. Rho's cut reopened, the blood dripping into his eye and staining his vision red. Garnet was showing physical strain; sweat pouring down, bruises on her face and abs. Their bodies reeled from each hit they took and their teeth gritted as they readied themselves to take one more hit, to throw one more punch, so long as it meant that they would be the last one standing. The corner crews were shouting, the attendees were screaming , it was absolute chaos. All of Beach City was on its feet, clamoring for a decisive blow.

And as quickly as the slug-fest started, the referee rushed in to break Garnet and Rho up, signalling its end. No one had heard the bell ring and even as the ref was breaking the fight up, he was in danger of being crushed between the two as thy pressed in on each other. Luckily reason prevailed, and they backed off. Before they made it back, the corner crews met them in the ring. Garnet knelt down to receive a hug from Steven. Rho was surrounded by his team as he fell into Gamma's arms, not from fatigue, but from excitement. "Sorry I couldn't get the knockout Omega."

Omega merely patted him on the back, a wide smile on his face. "With a fight that good, I can't be too mad at you!"

Rho looked at the others for their reactions. Gamma was in a fit of laughter, Upsilon and Helen were full of pride, their countenances softened. Nero was still focused on the other side. Epsilon was still trying to make sense of the outcome, eyes fixed on the blood on his brow. "Was the trip, all of your struggles, really worth this fight?"

"In those last few seconds," Rho answered. "I was just a man who wanted zucchini bread."

Epsilon sighed at the response, but he did feel happy for him. "You're crazy. Humble, but crazy."

On the other side, the feelings were no less ecstatic. "Wow!" Connie said to Garnet. "I could feel your strength from out there!"

"You were incredible!" Pearl praised.

"Not half bad," Amethyst agreed. "Couldn't have done better myself."

Steven let go of Garnet. "What happens now?"

She stood up and with a faint glow, her shades appeared in her hand. She didn't put them on, it seemed to be bad manners at the moment. Scanning the outside of the ring, she saw the official talking to three people. "The outcome is in the hands of the judges now."

The referee returned to the center of the ring, flanked by Garnet and Rho. On one side lining the ropes was Rho's team: Gamma, Upsilon, Epsilon, Omega,'Tau' Nero, and 'Eta' Helen. Opposite of them was Amethyst, Pearl, Steven and Connie. For as loud as this place was just twenty minutes before, now a pin could drop and be heard by anyone with ears. Everyone's hearts were pounding in their chests as the referee held up the scorecard.

"After the scheduled fifteen minutes, the judges have scored the rounds." he explained. "The first judge has scored the match twenty-nine to twenty-eight. The second judge scores the match twenty-eight to twenty-nine."

A pit was in Rho's stomach; they were dead even. This wasn't new to him, but this moment felt different. He took a deep breath and braced himself for the decision.

"The final judge scores this match twenty-nine to twenty-nine, making the final result a draw!"

Garnet and Rho turned to each other with confused looks, and everyone was speechless. In the ring, the two teams came together in order to find some answers.

"What happens now?" Amethyst said, for as long as she had been in the ring she had never seen a _tie_ before. "Is there some sort of sudden death round?"

"Nope!" Rho finally let himself calm down, and now he was the one laughing. "This is it; we just tied, and that's all there is to say about the matter."

"Then how are we going to settle this?"

"Must we? There's food waiting for us at the temple, and I'd like something to eat." He climbed down from the ropes and back to his locker room to get his clothes, navigating the dense crowd as he went. Amethyst was going to protest but he did have a point.

Epsilon went the other way. "I still need to prepare the food; in order to keep it hot, I kind of had to use a bit of magic. Gamma, you don't mind it if we ordered food from here do you? I only made desserts."

"I know just the place!" Steven said. "I'll take you there." The crowd filed out from the other exit to the adoration of the audience.

* * *

Rho wiped the sweat and blood off of his face with a towel and pulled his shirt over his head. With every move he ached, but that wasn't an issue anymore. With his beyond human vitality he would heal from this pain in less than an hour. That was something he would miss, especially now. Man, that was some fight! Rho replayed the whole thing in his head. Garnet was just as strong as he had hoped. He could feel a drive from her that mirrored his own; stern determination reflected from those three eyes. It was, she was...beautiful.

His chest heaved as that thought passed through his head. Panting at the strange feeling he could feel himself getting weaker. To test his concerns he summoned his armor, and he saw the effect it had on his spirit. The armor was dull, cracking in various places. Something was incredibly wrong, and he knew exactly what it was. Staggering out of the room, he made his way to the exit and back to the temple.


	4. Eternal Loop

In Fish Stew Pizza, Kiki was confronted with an odd sight. Steven coming in, that was normal. The Crystal Gems coming through the door, unusual, but she could deal with that. What got her was that the tourists that had come earlier that day and caused a 'ruckus' as her sister put it, walked in with them, their armor in packs at their side. She decided to ease into this and talk to Steven first. "You've had quite a day haven't you?"

"You know it!" Steven was still giddy, standing next to Connie. They were in the middle of the group, towered over by everyone else. "Did any of you see it?"

"No, but I had enough foresight to keep my radio." The voice didn't come from Kiki, instead it was from a older woman coming from around the other side of the counter. "We listened to the whole match from here."

"Nanafua!" Steven rushed forward and grabbed the old woman's hands. "What did you think about it?"

"I would like to hold my opinion when both competitors are here." she said. "Alexander seems to be missing."

Omega looked over his back. "Rho was changing his clothes, he should be right behind us."

"I wouldn't show my face around town either." Amethyst chuckled.

"Rho is many things," Upsilon said sternly. "A sore loser isn't one of them. I will contact Epsilon, perhaps he-"

A bell rung as the door was opened, Rho walking inside wearing the clothes he had before the fight. "Miss me yet?" He sniffed the air. "I certainly missed that smell. Hey guys, how long has it been since we had pizza?"

Gamma smiled at his entrance. "Our thoughts exactly."

"It looks like you have a fan." Nero pointed to Nanafua.

Rho blinked but stepped forward. Outwardly he was fine, but inwardly he wanted to be alone. Or at least as far from Garnet as possible. "I'm glad you enjoyed the fight. I'm sorry that there wasn't a decisive decision."

"We both have seen enough fights to know how rare a split-draw is." Behind her glasses Nanafua gave him a knowing wink. "We couldn't have asked for a better match."

Rho nodded. "Thank you."

"How do you feel?"

"Full of aches and pains, but nothing pizza can't cure."

With a smile, Nanafua shuffled over to Garnet and nudged her thigh. "Alexander gave you quite the run at the end there Garnet."

"He may not look it, but he is quite strong." Garnet said, folding her arms. Rho grinned back, but that twinge in his chest kept him from looking at her.

"As strong as you?"

Garnet's response was immediate and certain. "Couldn't tell you."

"With Rho's offence, all he would need to win was one more round." Omega bragged.

"In one more round there wouldn't have been anything left of him." Amethyst shot back.

"Just admit that despite Garnet's thousands of years of experience, she couldn't bring down a person a large, _large_ , fraction of her age younger."

"Enough, Omega." Gamma said forcefully. Rho had beaten creatures much older than Garnet, it was the only reason he stood a chance at all.

Omega stopped, but Amethyst wasn't going to let it go that easy. "What are we gonna do for a tie-breaker?"

"We can discuss that after dinner." Pearl said as she looked over to Steven and Connie. "What do you want to eat from here?"

Connie was nearly overcome by choice. Pizza wasn't something she was used to eating, health nuts that her parents were. For her, pizza looked at first to be a balanced meal: it had bread, cheese, vegetables if you wanted, and quite a few kinds of meat, even fish! However it tended to be on the greasy side, so she was told to stay away from it. Looking over the menu, she tried to make a choice.

"I don't know...I was thinking about something sweet..."

"Then you should try chicken and pineapple." Nanafua suggested.

"That does sound good."

"Alright then!" Gamma clapped her hands. "What about the rest of you guys?"

"Meat Lovers." Omega said. "Pepperoni, sausage and bacon if you will."

"Do you have crab meat?" Rho asked. It made sense to him, 'Fish' was in the title after all.

"Of course, We'll get started." Kiki said. "Penny, Dad, we've got some work to do!"

"Really, work at this hour?" Penny walked out, still a little groggy from her nap, to see what her sister was talking about. Noticing their new customers livened her up a bit. "I didn't realize that you were so distracting. I'm actually disappointed that I couldn't see you earlier."

Nero leaned on the counter, grinning softly as he faced Penny. "We could always have someone as pretty as you as a fan."

Gamma laughed behind Nero and Helen could only shake her head. "Your pick-up lines need work." Omega said.

Upsilon agreed in his own way. "Let us pick up our order and leave. Before we embarrass ourselves further."

* * *

There was more pizza then they thought, but between them all they made their way back to the temple, the occasional cheering of passers by to see them along. As they came closer, Rho became more and more worried about his well being and by the time the made it to the hill below the temple, he felt sick to his stomach.

Gamma looked back over his shoulder to check up on him. "You feeling okay Rho?"

"I...need a moment. Epsilon! Bring these boxes in!" Rho held out his pizza boxes and the instant he felt them lighten he let them go. The boxes floated up to the door, where Epsilon walked outside to receive them waving his hand as the boxes drifted into the house.

"Oh! Hey guys, you came back! And you brought Connie with you, now I don't feel like I made too much food. Come on in!" As he lead them in, he watched Rho wander away. "You sure he's gonna be alright?"

"There's nothing out there he can't handle, unless his Leviathan comes ashore right now." Omega said. Despite hie confidence, Epsilon couldn't shake his concerns off. He had a bad omen that something was going to go wrong. Whatever that may be, they would be ready to deal with it. That he was sure of.

Amethyst was drooling as her eyes caught the pastries and confections that were on display on the kitchen counter, smoke still wafting from them. Taking a knife, she went to cut the sweet potato pie, but was pulled away from it by Garnet. "Dinner first." Amethyst crossed her arms and grumbled, but did what she was told. Connie had picked up a communicator from the coffee table, not knowing what it was.

 _"Hmmm? Why you must be Connie; I've heard you're quite the curious one. A good thing to have in small degrees. I am Psyche."_

Connie nearly dropped the disc in surprise. "Psyche?" At first, she thought the voice belonged to a operator or a dispatcher, but she took a guess on the most outlandish answer she could think of. "Are you some kind of artificial intelligence?"

 _"First try, I'm impressed."_

"Y-You are? What do you do?"

 _"Try to keep something resembling order between this gaggle of borderline miscreants."_

"I wouldn't call us miscreants." Gamma said as he sat next to them, Omega finding a seat on the other side.

 _"I didn't."_

"She's not exactly wrong." Omega crossed his legs. "Think about it; we can't seem to go anywhere without causing trouble."

"If this is trouble," Epsilon said bringing over the plates. "Then we could all use more of it."

"True enough." Omega reached out for a slice of pizza, the gem on his wrist in plain sight. Catching it in the corner of her eye, Pearl spoke up.

"Where did you get that?"

"Oh this?" Omega said, presenting his wrists to her. "I didn't have this when we first met did I? To make a long story short I got a blood transfusion and now I can do this." Flexing his hand, a orb of orange energy floated up from his palm. At a simple thought, the orb separated into twinkling smaller orbs, becoming a small galaxy of plasma. Steven and Connie were in awe, even the Gems took notice.

"What happened since you left?" Garnet asked.

"Like Omega told you, it's a long story." Helen said. "But it seems we have time to tell it. Now can any of you tell a good tale, or is he still outside sulking?"

Epsilon's focus turned to the direction of where Rho had walked off. As he found a fix on him, his mind recoiled from his friend, holding on to his necklace to keep himself grounded. Omega stood up as well. "Feel that?"

"Yeah..." Epsilon replied. "Rho's under some form of duress, but I can't tell what."

Helen laid back in her chair. "If you're right and he's not a sore loser, then it's most likely regret."

"Regret?" Pearl said. "Alexander did rather well, what's there to regret?"

"We all want to fight at our best. Rho wasn't giving it his all in that ring."

"Neither was Garnet." Upsilon sighed. "They never had the chance. If they did, the entire _boardwalk_ would be gone. The price for being in public." Shaking his head he got up and walked to the door. "Rho is being unreasonable, he has to realize that."

"Stop." Gamma told Upsilon, stopping halfway to the exit. "I'll get him back." It was about more than being leader, it was about Rho being one of his oldest friends. He wouldn't have even been there if it wasn't for him. Rho had always shown confidence and strength, an aura of near invincibility that pulled him from death's door to aid his friends and team. If it had finally gotten to him, who would Gamma be if he wasn't there to pick him up?

Walking past Upsilon, he was reaching for the doorknob when a shockwave rattled his bones. Everyone began to stand thinking they were under attack, but Gamma waved his hand. "That's just Rho. Give me three minutes, then come out." He went out into the night.

Garnet's eyes furrowed behind her visor. "You'll need me for this one." She left immediately. No one argued with her, it didn't take an oracle that she had to talk to Rho too, it just so happened that they had one anyway.

* * *

 _"The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord."_

A plume of sand erupted as Rho struck the stone pillar before him. He was still without his armor, and was still unsure of its condition. Until he was confident that he could return it to his former glory, he had to keep working on it. That meant both physical training and prayer. Creating another one, he continued to recite Scripture.

 _"All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits."_ He smashed the second pillar with ease, slightly miffed that he hardly felt his fist go through the sandstone. He wanted his body to remember but his heart wasn't in it. Then again he knew where that was, that was the rub. Pivoting for a backfist, Gamma found himself in it's path, the blow knocking him on his back. Spotting him on the ground, he hurriedly helped him up.

"I see that you're not hurt." Gamma grunted. "So what's up? We're all worried about you."

Rho sighed. He should have figured that someone would have checked up on him. "No I'm not hurt. Kinda annoying actually. I'd rather it still hurt." He began shadow boxing.

Gamma watched him go through the motions. "You did well out there, no need to beat yourself up over a draw of all things."

"That isn't it exactly." Rho sighed looking out to sea. "A draw...that was something wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Had us at the edge of our seats. So can you come back before the pizza gets cold?"

"The match wasn't the problem. It's just..."

" _Whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour."_ Helen said as she walked into view, Upsilon and the rest of the team behind her, all without their armor.

 _"Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought and on the labour that I laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun."_ Upsilon finished.

Rho scoffed, still practicing. "What do you know about those words?"

Helen sighed. "I've lived long enough to know what pride looks like." She tossed down a cat o' nine tails at Rho's feet. "I'm quite sure this is what you require."

"An old unnecessary tradition." Rho picked up the whip and tossed it back. "Besides, what makes you think pride is my sin?"

"Even I can see that." Nero walked out to sea. "We've seen what you can do, and even now you still surprise us. It's not hard to take pride in that."

"Yeah, you've done so much with your power. Why throw that away over a draw?" Epsilon asked.

Rho could only laugh. "Power...do you want to see power?" Facing the ocean, he forced himself to summon his gauntlets. They still had their former glory, the two pistons primed. He fired the left one over the water with a punch, causing it to recede. The right one caused the ocean to split entirely. Everyone could see the ocean floor, and the strange rubble; pieces from the temple, were strewn about. By breathing steadily, Rho kept the water separated.

"Alongside you, as well as with my own eyes, I have seen power in the truest sense of the word. Wielded by beings of both good and evil, with desires both noble and perverse. What you see before is power in the rawest state. If this was all it took, I wouldn't have made it anywhere close to where I am now. What makes the difference is my faith. The armor that no one can break." With a sigh he returned to normal. He felt cold, shivers ran down his spine. "At least, that's what I thought."

Omega noticed the trembling. "The fight...the draw..." He started to laugh, increasing in volume as he went on. "It was never pride, it was lust! You have a crush on Garnet! I can't believe it..." He doubled over, wheezing.

"Please," Epsilon said, hand on his forehead. "Be serious about this, for at least a minute."

"How? He's falling apart because of a high school crush! And it's bad too, I can tell."

Rho looked at Omega oddly. "What gave me away?"

Composing himself, Omega smirked. It was rare that he had the answer, so why not milk it for what it's worth? "I can see you trembling. It's a chill you can't shake running up and down your spine; the feeling of isolation. Happens to everyone."

"Not to me." Rho insisted. "I've never felt this before."

Helen shrugged. "Well, they do say that love is magical."

"This is not love!" Rho shouted. The rest of his armor came out, dull and cracking. His hold on the ocean slipped, and the gap narrowed. "It shouldn't be, but when I was dying, the very idea of her helped bring me back. This can't be right...Gamma, there has to be some rule about relations between realities right?"

Nero was almost aghast at Rho's pleading. "You do know that we just came from a place where a man, not that much older than yourself mind you, married a being from the _eleventh dimension_."

"Compared to that, you loving an alien is very humble in scale." Gamma said not seeing anything wrong with the idea, but trying to understand Rho's crisis of faith.

"Upsilon," Rho said. "You of all people can tell me what's wrong..."

The giant sighed, seemingly fed up with his antics. He pointed back to the temple. "You need to confess your feelings to Garnet."

"What?"

"Those feelings will eat at you until there is nothing left. Whatever answer you get will be less painful that your current condition."

It was the kind of straightforward answer Rho came to expect. Defeated, he lowered his head and the water crashed together. "Fine. After dinner I'll tell her." Taking a few steps back to the house on the hill, he bumped into Garnet, who came from almost thin air. He gasped, flinching in surprise. So did the rest of them, besides Helen and Upsilon. Turning his head behind his back and stepped away, his eyes were wide in confusion.

"How long?"

Garnet said nothing, but Helen was more than willing to. "When Omega started laughing. I was able to hide her from everyone here. The trick is to take advantage of peoples distraction, and you provided a lot."

Calming himself down, Rho stood straight, his hands balling up into fists. Trembling with anger he tried to keep his voice level. "Leave me alone."

"But Rho..." Epsilon said.

"LEAVE!" He roared, swiveling around. His body changed, the skin turning a bright red. The cracking of his armor became even louder, and wind kicking up at his feet. The others left, and with only Garnet and Rho standing on the beach, his armor shattering completely.

Wincing, Rho looked at himself. It looked like the blood vessels just under his skin burst. It didn't hurt, and it would heal in time, but blowing up in front of Garnet made him ashamed to be next to her. Tired, he looked up at her face but couldn't read it behind her visor.

"So I guess you know now." He shrugged, looking away. "I...I don't know if you understand my faith, but you've been around for far longer than human history I'd bet. I'm also pretty sure I'm not the first person who has felt this way about you. But you must know about how important what we do is.

"I _have_ to protect everyone, and yet ever since I left here all I could think about was coming back. Just so I could fight you. I don't even remember the last time I did something so self serving. I thank you for accepting my challenge, but it seems to have only caused problems." Closing his eyes, he hung his head in defeat. "I can only ask for your forgiveness."

It was silent except for the crashing of the waves. Rho didn't move, waiting for something to happen. Something did, as there was a flash of light that was visible to him even behind his eyelids. Opening his eyes to find out what happened, he found that Garnet had disappeared. Looking around for her, he started to walk ahead before something tapped on his shin and a sharp voice started talking to him.

"Down here buddy."

He looked down to see two child-like Gems at his feet. The one that caught his attention was various shades of red, and had Garnet's square afro, bound with a headband. On the other side of her was a almost noble figure, her colors dress and posture a mirror opposite to the more athletic Gem to her left. The platinum ground length hair she had also covered her eyes. _Or was it eye..._ Rho thought. His mind understood the answer, but he had to make sure. "You two are Garnet aren't you?"

They both smile and held up their hands, revealing their gems, which had the same pattern as Garnet's despite the different colors. "Very astute Alexander." The blue one complimented.

Seeing the gems, Rho could now deduce who they were. "Ruby and Sapphire right?" When they both nodded, he laughed so hard he collapsed onto the sand. "That's amazing! Thank you for showing me this, I feel a lot better."

"Thank _you_. There is a aura about you that I saw during the last round. Familiar, yet strange and mesmerizing. I have not seen such harmonious motions from a human as young as you."

"Is that all you can say? 'His motions were good'?" Ruby interjected. "What about the fight? That was the amazing thing!" Placing a hand on Rho's shoulder. "It was the most fun we had fighting in centuries, maybe even millennia, and I'm sure Sapphy thinks so too." She smirked, jabbing her thumb at Sapphire who became bashful.

"So don't fall apart on us, or our rematch won't be anywhere near as interesting." Rho nodded and got to his feet, giving the two a respectful bow. When he raise his head Garnet was there to greet him with a arm extended. Gripping forearms, they gave each other a smile.

"The next time we meet," Garnet said. "I won't be taken by surprise."

"I highly doubt that." Rho replied.

* * *

From the other side of the beach, Epsilon and Omega could feel the tension fade away. Leaving with their friends after seeing Rho and walking up to the temple, Omega looked around. "Hey guys, have any of you got any crushes? I'd like to get out of the way now."

Nero raised an eyebrow. "Do you really want to know?"

"Not really, but I rather not believe that the only romance between the seven of us is Upsilon and Eta."

"Hey that's just tough luck." Helen said.

Gamma shook his head. "Even if I could get a girlfriend, Psyche would just drive her away." Reaching the door first, he swung it open to get two surprises. The first was Psyche's voice:

 _"Now there was no need for such accusations Victor. And besides, if such a hypothetical girlfriend was scared off by me, then your choice in women is lackluster to say the least. Also, it seems that someone is moving your stuff."_

Amethyst groaned, having some fun with one of Omega's shoes. "Why'd you have to snitch on us?" Finding the switch for the hover function, the shoe flew out of her hands and slid along the floor. Pearl picked up the shoe and turned it off.

"Stop goofing around," She chided. "At least help categorize the equipment." Pearl placed it next to the other shoes, as the other sets of armor were placed in the corner. She was in the middle of sorting the weapons, Steven and Connie sitting on the counter, eating pizza. "You two are paying attention, right?"

Steven nodded between bites, and Connie's focus was solely on the various blades. "I've read up on many weapons in the library, but these are different. Do you know why that is?"

"They're custom made using methods that don't exist on Earth." Pearl explained as she studied Nero's kopesh. "They could almost be Gem weapons."

"Even this?" The young girl yanked on Maschinegott, the large blade too heavy to lift. Noticing her struggle, Steven lifted it, nearly effortlessly, onto the counter for Pearl to look at. Helen eyes widened when she saw that. He wasn't human, not entirely, but to be so young and that strong...

"How hard was it to lift that Steven?" Helen asked, standing next to Steven.

Swallowing what food was in his mouth, Steven answered. "Not too hard. It feels like it has some weight to it, but I was always a strong kid for my age."

"Johann, how heavy is Machinegott?"

Upsilon, sitting on the couch, looked up at them, then lowered his head in thought. "Eighteen kilograms."

"T-That's nearly forty pounds!" Connie said.

"Thirty-nine point six eight."

"How can anyone use such a weapon?"

Her question brought a smile to Helen's lips. "Do you want to see? You seem to know your way around a sword."

"I have been practicing with Pearl for the past few months..."

"Ooh, a practitioner! Then you should certainly see it. Johann, Pearl, you wouldn't mind a sparring match, would you?"

Pearl was a bit shocked at her suggestion, and Upsilon sighed as he began to eat. He had a feeling this would happen. Omega stopped to just watch him.

"Are you okay?" Amethyst asked.

"Yeah...it's just that I've never seen Upsilon eat anything before. I mean, he has to eat, but I needed to actually see it."

Amethyst could hardly believe that, but as Rho and Garnet returned, Rho could only just get into the door for staring at Upsilon. "Did I miss something?" He said to Epsilon.

"Helen has asked Pearl to spar with Upsilon."

After some thought, Upsilon looked at Helen. "I'd rather you fight her. You are my master after all."

Raising her eyebrow, Helen shrugged her shoulders. "Is that okay with you Pearl?"

"If that's what he wants, then I can accommodate." Pearl agreed. Her curiosity surrounding these two was high.

"Not exactly." Upsilon stood up. "We are a team. While you spar with Helen, I would like to see what you have taught Connie."

"Well, me and Steven are a team, so you'll have to face us both." Connie said, Steven nodding in agreement.

Upsilon sat back down. He was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this, but he was kidding himself. This was the only way the match could be even remotely fair. He would try to end it quickly. "Then I'll face you both."

Nero gritted his teeth, this couldn't end well, but there was little to stop them. Rho picked up a box of pizza. "If we're going to go somewhere, can I bring this? I haven't eaten yet."


	5. Flash of the Blade

It was another trip on the Warp Pad before they arrived at the ancient Sky Arena. Coming in two groups, the first one was Garnet, Pearl, Gamma, Rho, Nero, and Omega. With their first glimpse of the crumbling grandeur of the stadium entrance, the humans realized rather quickly that this place was not a human structure.

"We are still on Earth aren't we?" Gamma asked, not quite sure where these pads go. If some of them go through a star, then they could have gone anywhere.

"Yes." Garnet said as they walked to the stairs. "But nearly a mile above sea level."

Rho took a deep breath; he could tell that the air was thinner here. Omega, with his stronger body, wasn't concerned with that. What drew his eye was the crest on the wall: a series of multicolored diamonds assembled into one bigger diamond. "Hey, anyone know what that is?"

To Rho reminded him of the gemstones that once represented his people once upon a time. It made little sense to compare it to an alien culture, but considering how old the Gems might be it wasn't implausible.

Nero looked at the symbol and was intrigued by it too. Diamond was the hardest of all gemstones for sure, but he didn't know what that meant in the grand scale of things. These Diamonds might be the leaders of the entire race, or they could just be the strongest combatants to fight in these arenas. There wasn't enough information, and with Garnet and Pearl with them, he wasn't willing to push any farther. Between this and the glass shard he found, he was getting concerned about what was going around here. If they didn't want to tell them anything about it, that was fine was him, he'd just have to figure it out on his own time.

"Beats me."

Before anyone could reply back, the second group came down. As they landed, Connie nearly stumbled off of the pad but Upsilon was able to pull her back.

Connie gasped. "Thank you, I don't usually take these things with so many people before." She laughed, slightly embarrassed by slipping.

"You are nervous." Upsilon said flatly, looking forward. "Ready yourself for what you are about to confront. I do not wish to fight you at anything less than your best."

Walking away before she could say anything, Connie was confused by how Upsilon was acting Maybe that was how he just was? Turning to Steven for answers, thee boy could only shrug his shoulders. It was Helen who came by and answered their unasked question. "Johann is a bit tense himself. Honestly I'm mildly shocked he agreed to this." A smile crept on her lips. "It'll be quite a show."

Amethyst ate a last slice of pizza that she brought with her before walking to Pearl. "You might want to watch these two. " She said. "They're really creepy, different than any other human I've met."

"Helen and Johann are indeed peculiar humans, even for this bunch." Pearl admitted. "Even still, I'm sure the three of us could handle them." A sword fight was where she shone the best. There was no telling how old they were, but she had lived to see the entire evolution of human sword arts. There was nothing those two could know that she didn't know too. After that, it was all about beating Helen fast enough to give Connie and Steven a hand. Beckoning to the children, they followed her up the stairs and to the arena proper.

Beyond the stands, there were columns around the edges of the landmass. At their feet were figures holding weapons, their images worn down by thousands of years of time. Everyone was standing atop the field where ancient battles once took place. Helen and Upsilon were instantly enamored by it, it felt like they were at home.

"Shall we begin?" Helen asked Upsilon eagerly.

"Of course." He replied, and they both took a deep breath. Reaching up with both arms they slowly fell over, frontflipping down the stairs in sync and jumping into the center of the arena. Something in the others set off warning alarms, and Nero went from being worried to being outright afraid. Whatever this was going to be, just as before it was no longer in their control. Those two had a way about taking control of whatever caught their interest. As Pearl and her two students went down to meet her, Nero sat down it shock.

Garnet could almost sense his fear. "What's the problem?"

Nero looked up to her. "Are you sure that they can do this?"

"Pearl will keep Steven and Connie safe if that is what you're worried about."

Nero didn't press any farther, but it didn't dissuade him. Pearl had to be really good with that sword of hers, but that didn't matter. Two children couldn't beat Upsilon, even if they were extraordinary.

Pearl, Steven, and Connie walked past them and confronted Helen and Upilson. and went to stretching. Helen and Upsilon merely watched and waited, curious at what they could do, how their power changed their swordsmanship.

"Johann, do you know what they can do? How they could fight?" Helen inquired, making herself loud enough to be heard. Upsilon looked at Pearl's smallsword, the fact that Connie had changed clothes to a dark blue gi bound with a red sash. That her blade wasn't a smallsword like her teacher but a curved, two- handed blade. And there was Steven, who's only weapon was a shield he could summon at will.

"Pearl will mostly likely draw from George Silver's writings on fencing, The _Paradoxes of Defense._ " Upsilon deduced. His voice was rote and monotone, speaking of such matters as if they were instinct. "Connie was most likely taught the _Kalaripayattu,_ the Indian fighting arts."

Helen suppressed a laugh at the fact that Pearl taught Connie her own cultural art. It made her feel a bit nostalgic.

Pearl was taken off guard by his knowledge. "How do you know such radically different styles?"

"It is why I am here." He said. "My master and I have endeavored to learn all of the fighting arts. Sadly where we came from ,a large portion of such texts have been lost or otherwise destroyed."

"If you were wondering," Helen followed up. "We use the teachings of Liechtenauer: _Blossfechten, Harnischfecthen,_ and _Ringen._ "

"Sorry," Steven apologized. "But what does that even mean?"

"It's German." Connie replied.

Pearl smiled, leaning down to them. "Excellent work! Johannes Liechtenauer was a German swordmaster of the fourteenth century, of Earth's history of course. His works include, as Helen said, unarmored combat, armored combat... and wrestling." That last part was what turned her off from that art.

Helen and Upsilon looked at this impromptu lesson, and were put off by the almost innocent novelty of it all. It was there for a moment, and then they shook it off. "I think it would be more practical if we showed you." Upsilon spoke up, becoming annoyed.

Pearl looked back to them, engrossed in teaching. "Oh, that's right. Steven, Connie, get ready." As they did, Pearl kept talking. "So, how do we decide who wins this contest?"

"How about first blood?" Helen proposed. There was no other valid means of scoring, and as far as she and Upsilon were concerned it was the only way such sport had any meaning for them. They thought an argument would break out, but there was an agreement from a unusual source.

"That's fine with me." Steven said, and Connie nodded in agreement. Pearl was more hesitant, but there wasn't a chance of any lasting harm due to Steven's healing spit. Nodding, Helen and Upsilon took a step back and with a sweep of their hands they were armed with their weapons, and their clothes became stark white jackets with close fitting leggings.

Upsilon raised his left arm, his shield fitted onto it. "It is only fair that I'd be armed similarly to my opponents." No objection was made, and the five of them saluted each other.

Rho and Amethyst sat next to the box of pizza, eager to watch while they ate. "So how do you think this is going to play out?" Amethyst asked him.

"Upsilon is as good with a blade as I am with my fists, and Helen even more so as his teacher. They've been together fighting for who knows how long."

"And? Pearl's a sword nut, she's been practicing for as long as I've known her, and thousands of years before that."

"No matter how good Pearl is, two children can't beat Upsilon. They're going to get steamrolled."

"You'd be surprised how good Steven and Connie are."

"It won't matter." Omega sat down beside them, Epsilon and Gamma following right after. Amethyst wanted to object, but even her normal confidence was draining away. She didn't know what it was, but these two visitors had something...wrong with them.

Pearl was less concerned. "Helen, Johann, do you want to start off?"

"Remember Johann; calm and caution, vigor and determination, valor, and a forceful spirit." Helen advised.

"Have fun with Pearl." Upsilon said, and they immediately went from standing still to storming into Pearl, Steven, and Connie in the blink of an eye. The sudden shock would've ended the match at once, but the sound of Steven's shield coming into being bolstered their resolve. Pearl deflected Helen away and the sound of Upsilon's sword against that pink shield echoed across the expanse. Pearl saw Helen's wide smile, Steven and Connie were met with Upsilon's stony face.

Coming to blows with Pearl, Helen was rather impressed. This...Gem...fought like she had been honing her skill for ages. "You know, Johann told me a lot about you." She said, moving to separate Pearl from her students. Pearl thrust out to keep her still, only increasing her admiration. "I didn't take it all too seriously, but now? I can see it."

Pearl was unsettled by how casual Helen was being, but so far it was nothing she hadn't seen. She could remember when she first met Johann, he mentioned a Helen back then, but she didn't put much thought into it after he left. Now that they were face to face, she had to admit that she was memorable. "What I can't understand is how he confused me for you." Pearl sneaked a glance at how Steven and Connie were doing. They seemed to be doing well enough, blocking off Johann's momentum, but that wouldn't last. She'd need to finish this quick.

Helen caught Pearl's eyes wandering and slashed at her, cutting part of the bow on her sash. "Cheeky, but folly all the same." She told a hair triggered Pearl. "You taught them right? You should learn to trust them."

"They're just kids!"

"That is something they can't help, but if you don't trust them then that's your fault for training them poorly. I mean you don't see me fretting about my student." With that, Helen pushed forward, forcing Pearl away.

Upsilon was initially curious with how Steven and Connie fought, taking a few decent swings, letting them take the _vor_ before taking it back after a while. By watching their footing, it was clear that they were a solid team, but welded to the hip due to conflicting disciplines. Everything about it was aggravating to him. He swung a bit harder, shoving both of them back.

Steven couldn't figure out how to get past him, and his arm was starting to get numb from taking blows from such a heavy blade. Johann looked to be unfazed by anything they could throw at him. He was about to raise his shield to defend another attack when Connie tapped his shoulder.

"Footwork." She whispered to him. They weren't thinking about it too much before now, but Upsilon was only moving a few steps at a time; slow and methodical. Easy to predict, but how to exploit it? The only way they knew how; together.

Upsilon smiled as they ran at him, ready for almost anything. Then the broke off, freeing Connie up to make more attacks from more varied angles. Keeping up with her wasn't a problem, but tracking two children running around him was not at all easy. There were many reasons that hated fighting children, but this was a whole new one. Stress showed on his face as he tried not to get his legs clipped by Connie's sword. As Upsilon moved his foot back, Steven tossed his shield and got it under his foot and he slipped, falling backwards.

Scrambling back before they could get on top of him, Upsilon was stunned. Steven and Connie were saying something, perhaps an apology, he wasn't listening. Everything became noise, his fury building to a new height, and he was done playing around. He came at them like a runaway train, and Steven covered both Connie and him. Instead of leading with his sword, Upsilon threw his shield like a fist, and it turned into one before it made contact. With a ear splitting crack the shield shattered, the two kids flying away in different directions.

Steven came to first, dazed from the hit, and he had lost all feeling in his arm now. "Wh-what just happened?" He looked over to Connie, and then to Johann. That shield on his arm had turned into some kind of hand? As this giant of a man came at him, he felt a twinge of actual fear. It was actually hard to think that he was once friendly.

"I'm done with you." Upsilon said, the last bit of compassion gone from him. His head twitched, hearing something behind him. He didn't turn around, he only moved to his right and saw Connie fly by his face. She had jumped to try and save Steven with no regard for her safety. Upsilon's mechanical hand snatched her out of the air and flung her to the ground. Her head bounced hard on the stone tile and she didn't try to get up.

"Connie!" Steven gasped. What was going on? Why was Johann acting this way? For his outburst Upsilon slapped him with the flat of his blade, the boy crashing into one of a pillars. Everything for him went blurry, and then he passed out.

Upsilon sighed. It wasn't supposed to have gotten this bad. Nothing that can be done about it now. He made a small cut on Connie's shoulder before picking her up, then doing the same with Steven. He took them both to the stands, laying them on near the others. Looking up at the audience, he saw the same blend of revulsion and judgement. "Do not move them yet." He left after saying that, and everyone went down to check on them.

Gamma placed his communicator on Connie's ear, then Steven's "Psyche, diagnostic."

 _"Steven is only unconscious,"_ Psyche reported. _"Connie is concussed. Upsilon is right, they should not be moved."_

Garnet was deep in thought, but Amethyst had to say something. "What the heck is up with those two?"

Gamma said nothing, but he was reminded him of what Nero told him, that Upsilon and Helen were prone to violence. Now he thought Nero had actually underestimated them.

Upsilon watched Helen and Pearl continue to fight. They were evenly matched, and he had no reason or even want to step in, but he did want to catch their attention. Flicking his sword, the blood on it fell on Helen's jacket, standing out enough to get both of them to stop.

"I have beaten my enemy." Upsilon said. "Can we end this now?"

Helen gave him a soft smile. "Aren't you here to find the answer to your question? All I want to do is help you. As a matter of fact..." Placing her sword into her hand, she sliced her palm.

"Well that's it for me." She said, walking away. "I hope you find your answer." Taking her seat, Pearl was left confused. "She just gave up?"

"Helen has a way of getting under your skin." Upsilon said. "I am your opponent now."

"What's the answer you came here for?"

"This." Upsilon opened his shield up to Pearl, and her hand went up to her mouth and her blue eyes widened. When Upsilon lowered her hand everyone else could see what caused such a reaction.

A red steak of blood.

Epsilon felt the back of Connie's head, and it was wet. He didn't want to pull it away. He didn't know what was worse: stopping the fight or keeping it in Upsilon's hands. As Epsilon fretted, Helen smiled.

"Johann, you said that you'd grind the Crystal Gems into dust. I want to see you do it."


End file.
